Randolph refrained from speaking further until Friday's news conference.

The hiring of a woman to coach football is not unprecedented in D.C. public schools. In 1985, Wanda Oates was named head football coach at Ballou. She lasted one day in the position, before opposing coaches pressured the deputy schools superintendent to remove her from the job because they didn't want to coach against a woman.

When Oates learned Wednesday that Randolph had landed the job at Coolidge, she smiled and shook her head that it took 25 years for the next woman to take this step.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for that young lady," said Oates, 67, who teaches physical education at Wilson High in Upper Northwest Washington. "Football is the macho of all macho sports, and once we break that glass ceiling, there's no limit to what we can accomplish."

Randolph was introduced to the Coolidge team after school on Tuesday, according to a person who was at the meeting. The boys on the team displayed some initial skepticism, this person said, but Randolph won them over.

"Some of the kids tried to test her knowledge of football, and she just shot them down," said the individual, who asked not to be identified because school officials requested that the information not be made public until Friday. "At the end, they were clapping for her. They didn't know she played football."

While Randolph had the power to discipline the players on the H.D. Woodson team when she was an assistant, she said she had to work harder to establish herself with the other coaches on the Warriors' staff. "After the first week, I had more apprehension about the other coaches than about the players," she told The Post in 2006. "It was about proving myself to the other coaches."

She won't be taking over a league doormat, but the Coolidge team she inherits does have a mixed reputation. The Colts were 39-36 during the seven years of previous coach Jason Lane's tenure, making the DCIAA playoffs four times. Lane resigned in January, amid reports that school administrators were unhappy with the academic and behavioral performances of many football players.

Prior to this school year, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee turned control of Coolidge over to Friends of Bedford, a private management firm in New York.

People familiar with high school athletics said the transition to head coach at the school will be a challenge for Randolph, albeit not an insurmountable one.

"Change is not easy. I was there when Wanda was at Ballou, and it was tough then," said Allen Chin, the DCIAA's athletic director from 1991 until 2008 and the athletic director at Anacostia High School before that. "But [Randolph] has done her time. She's been an assistant, and I don't see any problem in the locker room because she can just leave.

"It's tough, but change has to happen. It's going to take time. It's up to each individual student and how they handle it."

Fuller saw how Randolph handled any preconceived prejudices and questions about a woman operating in a male-dominated domain when she worked for him at Woodson. He said Randolph is well-qualified to coach and can handle the scrutiny.

"You always know, with her, she'll get the respect because she'll demand it from you," Fuller said.